Hallucinations
by Guardian Angel Yukito
Summary: [HughesxRoy][End of seriesish spoilers] While out in the snow, Roy collapses. Having fallen into a coma, he's stuck in his own mind, where everything seems to be going his way.
1. Introduction

**Introduction**

"Gus! Gus, where are you boy? Come back, boy! Gus! Gus!"

The small family continued to struggle, pushing through the three foot deep snow, wincing as the blizzard blew sharp, stinging ice into their eyes. "Give it up, Anne," the little girl's father sighed, though had to yell over the screaming wind. "Gus is go -" "NO! He's a champion! He'll come through. Gus! Gus!" The nine year old's determination was rather admirable, and so her parents followed on as she ran ahead, screaming for her beloved Husky to return.

"Gus? Gus! Gus! Mum - I think I've found him!" The girl, Anne, pointed and continued to run, though was going no faster through the thick snow. A dark shape lay up ahead, half covered in snow, and could well be a dog - or maybe just another log. "Gus! Don't worry, boy, we're co ..." She trailed off, and her parents panicked as she vanished, so they hurried up even more, desperate now to get to her.

"Mummy! Mummy! It's a man! I found a man!" Her parents exchanged baffled glances, but rushed to her side nonetheless. And there lay a man, face down in the snow, nearly covered over. "Oh my ... Quick! Richard - pick him up!" The man complied quickly, hoisting the pale other over his shoulder as they set off quickly for home. They had to get this man out of the snow, though there was already a large chance of him not making it.

"D'you think he's dead?" Anne asked, peering at the man that now lay in her bed, covered with five thick blankets and bundles of her cuddly toys. She pushed long brown locks out of her face, giving the man a gently poke. "Where d'you suppose he came from? What's under that eyepatch?" She reached forwards to peel it back, but her mother slapped her hand gently with a mutter of 'That's rude'. Anne's curiosity was itching now, but she left it be.

"His name's Roy Mustang." Her father stated suddenly, wandering into her pink bedroom, scratching his short beard with one hand as he held Roy's wooly jacket in the other. "He's a ... uh corporal. Police guy." He raised his eyebrows at his wife, and their daughter frowned darkly at whatever secret they were keeping from her.

"So ... when's he gonna wake up?" Anne asked slowly, and her mother heaved a sigh. "Hard to say, honey. I think he's in a coma of sorts." "Oh ..."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The water lapped lazily at his feet, tickling his toes gently. The gentle 'swoosh' of the sea, quiet squawks of seagulls and salty air was so comforting it seemed unreal. And that _sun_. It was so warm, beating down on his back - sheer heaven after that blizzard. He had never felt so warm in his life. He shifted, digging his toes into the soft sand, chin resting on his folded arms, eyes closed happily.

"Shoo. Shoo! It's my ice cream. Bugger off."

He couldn't help but smile at his friend's voice, and opened one eye, turning his head to the side slightly to look at him. Maes was sitting cross-legged on a red and blue striped blanket, prodding at a large crab with a stick and holding a large ice cream in his other hand. He threw the stick away, giving the crab a few seconds to scurry forwards before grabbing it and lobbing it away, where it landed with a dull 'plop!' in the sea.

"Didn't I tell you this was a good idea, Roy?" He asked, taking a lick of his ice cream which had begun to melt and drip onto his hands. Roy merely nodded a fraction and gave a soft 'mn', nestling his face against his arms. "No one ever comes down this part of the beach," Maes continued to speak, merely filling the silence with some comfortable chat. "And when they do, there's hardly any one here still." Roy, again, merely gave him another 'mn', reaching out a hand to pick up a handful of sand. Purple. How odd.

But it didn't strike him as odd. It seemed perfectly normal. If he cared to look, there were little patches of purple sand all over the place. It was probably just his mind acting up, though. Nothing to worry about. He had nothing to worry about at all. Everything was perfect.

"I'm hot." Hughes complained, flopping down on the blanket and throwing the tip of his cone away. He watched a flock of seaguls for a moment, yawning and throwing a pebble into the sea. A few seaguls flew down, landing a couple of feet away from Maes. He frowned, throwing another pebble at them, just for the heck of it.

_"D'you think he's dead?"_

The voice echoed around them - a young girl from the sounds of it. Roy's brows furrowed and he lifted his head to stare around, glancing curiously at Maes, who seemed not to have heard it, and was still lightly throwing pebbles at the seagulls.

_"Where d'you suppose he came from? What's under that eyepatch?"_

Eyepatch? Roy reached up to touch his left eye, only just noticing the missing patch. He could see perfectly out of each eye, as well. He looked at Maes again, who still hadn't heard the voices and was looking at him with a concerned expression. "Something wrong, Roy?"

"Oh ... No, it's nothing."


	3. Chapter 2

**bChapter Two/b**

"I think he's dead." Anne stated as they ate dinner, glancing in the direction of her bedroom door down the hall. Her parents sighed, and her mother, Marie, placed a gentle hand on top of her daughter's. "No, he's just in a coma." Anne considered this, chewing on a piece of carrot. "Coma ...? Like, he's dead but alive?" Marie nodded, "Something like that. I think you should spend some time just talking to him. Try and get him to wake up."

The girl shrugged, before standing up and excusing herself. She walked quickly down the wooden hall, entering her room with a light knock. The man hadn't moved an inch since she had last seen him. "Okay then," she sighed, sitting down on a chair next to the bed. "My name's Anne. Nice to meet you Roy." She didn't expect a reply, and didn't get one, either. "So. You're a police officer, huh? That's pretty cool. I want to be a vet when I grow up. Like everyone else in my year.

I have a mustang, you know. You might like him. Get it? Mustang. Heh ..." It was pretty boring talking to Roy, but she kept it up. Maybe he would be her friend when he woke up or something. "Bet it must suck to be in a coma. I wonder what it's like? You could be hearing me right now .." She shuddered, finding the thought rather freaky. "You have pretty hair." Anne stated absently, reaching out a hand to touch it lightly.

Anne was quite fascinated by this man - not attracted to him or anything, he was just ... interesting. But then again, not many people found a man in a coma and decided to bring him home.

As Roy was pushed down onto the bed, he couldn't help but wonder where Glacier and Elysia were. But then, he realised, this was his world - a place created in his mind. He had everything he wanted here, hence the reason why Maes was alive and his wife and daughter didn't exist. He had always been jealous of Glacier, despite respecting her for getting Maes' attention. She was lucky that she had made Maes happy before he had gotten a chance.

Everything felt so real here. It was strange to think that he was just asleep, but the voices he heard proved that enough. Unless he had gone insane. i"You have pretty hair."/i It was that girl again, her voice echoing around the place, but again Maes didn't hear it, instead kissing Roy.

He had to enjoy everything while he had it. Who knew when he would wake up. But right now he didn't want to.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

If this was his own created world, why did it suck so much? I mean, if his mind automatically created all of this, then shouldn't everything be perfect?

If so, why did the ferris wheel decide to break down? And, why did Maes have to be so hyper that he was rocking the cart back and forth. And, why did it have to be an roofless cart, with only a bar keeping them safe? "Look! All of those people down there - they're like ants!" Maes leaned over the side, making Roy's stomach jolt as the cart rocked dangerously.

"Maes!" He hissed, grabbing hold of the other's sleeve and yanking him back, sinking into his seat so as not to look down. "Stop shaking it. We'll fall." Why oh why, did it have to break down when they were at the very highest it could go? It wasn't fair, especially as Roy's mind had randomly decided to be terrified of heights. "You're not _scared_, are you, Roy?" Hughes laughed at him, making the cart shake a little.

"Stop it," Roy snapped, clenching his fists. "I don't know why I let you talk me into this. It's stupid." Hughes was moving about again, leaning over the side to peer down at everyone below. Roy hissed, wondering if some poor unfortunate below would meet Mustang's lunch. "I'm going to be sick, Hughes, stop it." Maes snorted something like 'You big baby', and gave the cart an extra hard rock.

"Yo! You down there!" He was leaning so far, Roy was sure he would fall out, but Maes didn't, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing now. Stupid man. "When're we getting off of this thing? What! I can't hear you! Oh." He settled back, giving Roy a gently nudge with his elbow. "They'll have it fixed in about an hour and a half."

They sat in silence for a while, and Maes didn't shake the cart for a while, for which Roy was glad. He felt rather sick, and doubted Maes would like it if he threw up over him. "Aw. Don't look so annoyed." Hughes leaned over, placing a rather sloppy kiss on the other's cheek, which Roy quickly pushed him away for. "Oh go away."

But really, he secretly liked the attention.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Roy still hadn't moved. It had been a week or so now, and he had been moved to a hospital so that they could keep him alive. And for some reason, the little family remained by his side. They felt attached to him, as if he were a relative, when in fact they didn't know him at all. They wanted to help, but there wasn't any way in which they could. Though, the doctor had said that talking to Roy would help.

"D'you think he'll ever wake up up?" Anne asked, boredly tapping her fingers against the arm of her leather chair. The family had been here nearly two hours, and still Roy hadn't moved. Even though it hadn't been long, thoughts of losing hope were already popping up. But, as the doctor had reasoned, there was always hope, though a coma could last years.

"I don't know." Marie answered slowly, studying Roy's pale face with warm brown eyes. "I hope so though." "Yeah .." Anne nodded, "Me too."

He couldn't remember being so happy. Well, yes, he could, but that had been a long time ago, and hadn't had such a fairy-tale feel to it. Whereas this, when Maes held him, kissed him, cradled him, it all had such a magical and wonderful feeling to it, even though on the border of his mind he knew that it wasn't real. He just wanted to hide from reality and stay here, locked within his own mind, where his fantasies were actually real.

It was amazing, really - he could feel everything perfectly. If he touched something, he felt it, properly, with all of his nerves. If he tasted something, it was there, stuck on his tastebuds. If he smelt something, it was locked away within his mind. Everything here was so real it was hard not to believe it and let himself just ... go. But he feared that if he let go of the knowledge that there was a life outside of this, that his body would give up and he would die, losing everything.

But he pushed such depressing thoughts away, instead burying his face against Maes' chest. He felt like a rag doll in the other's arms, and hated the thought that Maes and these sensations weren't real. "What's wrong, Roy?" Hughes' voice was gentle in his ear, something in Roy's posture telling him instantly that something was wrong. But Roy just shook his head, offering a small smile up at the other. "Nothing. Don't worry."

The voices from the Outside that he heard had been reduced to loud whispers, that he could ignore if he set his mind to it. He had learnt their names now - a girl, Anne, that would speak to him often, and her parents, Marie and Richard. They all seemed to be worried about him and that made him feel rather special.

"Don't lie to me," Maes murmured, pushing locks of Roy's hair out of his eyes, propping himself up on one elbow. "I know something's wrong." Roy didn't have the heart to tell him. How do you tell a memory, a mere fantasy, that you aren't real? It had to be simple, right? But ... Maes seemed real, in every single way. And that put doubts in Roy's mind.

"Don't worry," Roy repeated, clinging to the other. "It's nothing."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The weeks slithered by, turning into a month, two months, three, four even. The trio continued to visit, watch and wait, with nothing happening save the odd twitch, while Roy lived out everything he had ever wanted with some bonus thrown in. It was his own little Paradise, and for once he didn't mind if this earned him the title of insane, because if he was insane, than insanity was brilliant.

But then, after six months, just after his promotion to Fuhrer, things started to change. It was nothing drastic at first - the voices from the Outside would grow louder, and he wouldn't be able to block them out for short periods of time, or something would be miscoloured or deformed, like an orange tree or a dog with three heads. He learned to ignore these things, since Maes never seemed to take any notice, so why should he?

It was when he thought he saw Maes _dripping_ that he knew something was going wrong. Maes had been sat there, reading a book and talking to him at the same time - Roy always marvelled at his multitasking skills -, and then the colours that made him up had started to run and dribble, blending together like paint that was too watery on a canvas. And yet, Maes still didn't seem to notice anything. Was it only Roy that could see these things, as it was all inside of his own head?

All of these things instantly inspired a horrible fear inside of him, as he instinctively knew what was happening: his body was preparing to wake up. But he refused to believe or accept it, and would remained buried inside of his dreams. He wouldn't let it happen. He was happy here, locked inside where no one else could reach him.

"Maes ..." Roy reached out, kneeling besides the man who was asleep on the couch, arms wrapped around a red pillow. Maes grunted something at him, half opening one eye to peer at Roy. "I think ... we need to talk." Why did he feel so nervous about talking to something that wasn't real? Couldn't his mind just make everything better? Maes sat up, frowning in concern and now perfectly awake and serious, waiting for Roy to continue.

"You ..." He paused, watching all the emotions flicker across Maes' face and in his eyes. Why did he have to be so _real_? It wasn't fair. "You aren't real." Some unseen force slammed into him suddenly, stealing all air from his chest and making him gag. Like a mirror on impact, cracks were running down and across Maes, spreading across him like spider webs. _Oh God, no, I'm going to lose him!_

It was instinctive, like a human breathes - Roy snatched out, grabbing a hold of Maes and tugging him away. The Maes he now grasped was perfectly normal, but his outline still sat on the couch, crack-lines criss-crossing over the empty space, as if Maes' image had been dragged out of it. "Run! Just - run!" Roy yelled at him, shoving the other forcefully through the wall, which rippled like water and allowed them to pass straight through.

He didn't know what to do. He was in a state of sheer confusion. Where could he run to inside his own mind? But Maes had grabbed his hand, tugging him desperately in a random direction. They had to hide somewhere.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

It was odd, he found, that they could run through any substance that they wanted to, but if they touched it without the need to pass through it, it was totally solid. He tried not to think of that as they hurried through walls and fences, through people and trees, ducking down into basements only to burst up out of the earth. Roy didn't know what they were running from anymore, but the absolute fear on Maes' face and his constant 'don't look back's told him that they were fleeing from something.

They burst out of a shop, only to find themselves in a large, vast field of flowers. Panicking, they turned back, but the shop and everything else had vanished. For a moment, Maes was relieved, believing that they were free. And then he saw it. Quite a distance away, though it seemed to be catching up quite fast, was a dark shape. It was like a cloud of smoke or coal dust, and it would glitter with amazing colours if they looked at it from an angle. But Roy had no time to admire, as Maes had already grabbed his hand and started to run again.

The sky cracked above them, and the earth groaned, and suddenly they were in the middle of a busy street on a market day. Roy blinked curiously for a minute, realising that this was the Monday market from his childhood. "Maes - look!" A little way ahead of them, standing up on their tiptoes to see clearly at the stall, were two darkhaired boys. They couldn't be much more than seven or eight, the smaller of the two clutching a moth-eaten rabbit in one hand.

"How much're apples, Roy?" He heard the one wearing glasses ask, glancing around to spot his mother as his companion continued to strain to see the stall's contents. "I dunno. I can't see 'em." Their mothers were walking towards them, talking about every-day things, seeming to trust their children enough to be by themselves at times like this.

The pair watched their younger selves for a moment, before the older Maes grabbed Roy's hand and they began to run again. The world shift-blurred and cracked again, and Maes glanced curiously at Roy. The other male looked as if he was concentrating fiercely, biting his lower lip with a dribble of sweat rolling down one side of his face. "I'm hiding us." He stated as Maes raised an eyebrow.

He turned back, running again before tripping over something and breaking contact with Roy, who yelped, standing still. Their settings had changed again: a school classroom, desks and chairs scattered all over the place. A pair of boys - fourteen, this time - were stood in front of all of their classmates, showing their science homework project: alchemy, Roy remembered, he had insisted that they had done it.

The younger Roy looked a little nervous, though covered it over with a scowl, whereas the younger Maes was slouching slightly, as if he didn't care much for the attention, dipping in every now and then to help explain something. His best friend had done most of the work, and therefore knew more. The teacher seemed amazed at all of the things they had produced in two weeks, motioning for them to sit down. The younger Maes grinned at his best friend, who offered a shaky smile back.

And then the walls of the classroom fell away, the people grew thin and flat, vanishing into dust as Maes and Roy began to run again. "Where're we going?" Maes asked, even though he was leading, it was really Roy's mind that seemed to decide everything. "Anywhere," he answered, "Anywhere that we can hide."

They had been running for ages now, and found themselves reliving so many moments. But now they found themselves in a rather spacious bedroom, and Roy couldn't help but flop down on the large bed. "I'm so tired." Maes was about to suggest that they rest for a few minutes, which was what Roy had obviously intended, when the door flew open, two figures, both struggling to get each other's clothes off, stumbled in.

"I've never had such a worse case of déjà-vu before." Roy muttered, watching his drunken eighteen year old self. He moved off of the bed, listening to the others' conversation about whether it was okay to 'do it' in someone else's bed. But, as the younger Roy reasoned, Vicky had known it would happen when she invited everyone to her huge house and supplied alcohol.

Older Maes moved forwards, grabbing Roy's arm and tugging him towards the door. There was something rather unsettling about watching himself have sex, and thus wanted to leave before it happened. And so they started to run again.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"So ... this is my wedding, huh?" Maes asked, scratching the back of his head as they stood in the middle of the aisle, watching the group at the altar. "Yeah." Roy nodded, sighing. This moment had been lodged in Roy's mind for years, though the Maes that his mind had created didn't remember it ever happening. But Roy remembered it perfectly, as well as the drunken days spent alone afterwards, sinking into depression that he had wasted his chance with Maes.

"You don't look too happy for me." Even from afar, he could tell that the best man's small smile was forced. "I didn't want you to get married." Roy admitted, and even to him his words seemed bitter and selfish. He had wanted Maes all to himself, and still did. "That makes sense." Roy glanced at Maes curiously, surprised to see something close to regret on his face. Had this Hughes also always wanted to get married and raise a family?

"C'mon," Roy sighed, walking towards a wall as everything began to crack and splinter again. The colours of everything dripped and ran like Maes had before, rolling and splattering onto the floor like large mulicoloured raindrops. "I really don't feel like it's possible to hide anymore, Roy." But he ignored the other, pushing through a wall with a rather depressed air. Thinking of Maes' wedding always did that to him.

He frowned at the low voices that greeted him, the dim lights and cigarette smoke adding to his confusion. And then he heard voices - his and Maes, not too far away. "I'm not sure if this head priest is the same one that Ed defeated, though. We should ask Ed to reinvestigate this matter."

"He thinks that he saved a city. Let's just let him believe that for now. He will find out on his own eventually." As Maes appeared at his side, Roy had spotted their other selves sat at the bar. But he pushed on, not wanting to dwell and think, just wanting to hide and cling to Maes.

As he walked out of the bar, Roy found that he couldn't see at all, and that the air was cold and damp. His eyes adjusted quickly, thanks to the small grate near the ceiling that let moon light filter in. Military dungeons, he mused.

_"Hey mum ... Roy's twitching."_ That girl's voice was louder than ever now, making the walls shake and stones fall and rattle. Roy turned to look at Maes, who was looking utterly confused, having finally hear the voice. "C'mon, Maes. We have to keep running." He began to walk again, but stopped as he saw that Maes wasn't following, and was instead staring at his own hand. Fine lines ran along it, spreading and growing, slowly slithering up his wrist and arm. "I don't think we can run anymore, Roy."

Roy shook his head, staring as he reached out, snatching hold of Maes' hand. There was a sound like glass smashing, and two of Maes' fingers came away in Roy's hand, crumbling like ice. "NO!" He screamed, lunging hold of Maes' upper arm where the lines hadn't reached, dragging him through the dungeon wall. "Roy -" "NO! Keep running!"

He could feel Maes' upper arm start to crumble in his grip, and he spared him a glance, horrified to find that it had reached all the way up to his shoulder and was now spreading down his other arm. He let go of Maes, ignoring the fact that they were back in that field again, except now it was dark - a simple, starless night. "No! No no no! You can't leave me again!" Roy couldn't understand why Maes didn't look confused or in pain. He just looked curious and a little sadly resigned. As if he had known this would happen all along.

"Roy," Maes sighed, enfolding him in his arms. He wasn't cracked or lined or missing anything now, he was perfectly normal, apart from the fact that he was slightly transparent. "You can't live inside of your own mind. You have to wake up." Roy's throat had gone tight, and instead he pressed himself against Maes, clinging to him desperately like a man drowning, shaking his head and refusing to believe. "Me leaving you can't be stopped. I have no power over that. But I love you anyway, even if I'm not real."

He tried to tell Maes that he was stupid, that what he was saying was just a lie, but all that came out was a croaked 'No!'. He clung tighter, stumbling as he found his arms go right through Maes. Ghostly lips pressed to his, and despite the fact that he could hardly see Maes anymore, he could still feel the arms around him. "See ya, Roy."

There was a stabbing pain in the back of his head, and Roy's eyes closed, his knees buckled and he fell into a dark pit.

The family had been about to leave, getting ready to catch the two am bus home. Anne was on the verge of falling alseep in her chair, and even her parents looked quite tired. The constant visiting was beginning to wear them out. They stood, gathering their coats and pulling them on. Marie yawned, and the family turned their backs on Roy and walked towards the door.

There was a rustle of cloth, but their brains barely registered it as began to walk. Roy was just twitching again.

"**MAES!**"

The scream took them all by surprise, the sound of it echoing down the hall, followed by uncontrolled sobs and low shrieks of horror. Roy was awake, thrashing in his bed, screaming for this Maes to come back, to not leave him all alone. The trio stood there and stared for a while, letting Roy cry himself dry and let out all of his screams, until he had buried his face in the pillows and merely dry-sobbed, coughing and spluttering.

"Honey, calm down, everythi -" "HE LEFT ME! HE'S GONE! HE LEFT ME! HE'S DEAD! MAES! COME BACK!" Roy couldn't remember ever being this unrational, to ever lose control like this. But he had led himself to believe that he would never wake up, and now couldn't take the pain of losing his Paradise. "Honey, what are you doing?" Marie couldn't do anything more than raise her hands and step forwards, asking him in a forced calm voice.

Roy was reaching to his bedside cabinet, where the nurses had placed the gloves that he had been wearing. The family had thought nothing of the odd designs on them, and just labelled them off as something with emotional value and kept them there for when Roy woke up. But now, as the man pulled them onto his hands, they began to have second thoughts about them. "I - I need him." Roy sobbed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

And then he clicked his fingers, engulfing both the bed he sat on and himself in flames. The family could do nothing but stare, terrified of the person they had been so concerned about. And then the nurses that had stood in the doorway kicked into action, lunging forwards to put out the fire. But Roy had changed the oxygen perfectly - he had been dead within seconds.

Anne began to cry, and her mother instinctively held her. This was too much for the poor girl to take, who had been the most desperate for Roy to wake up, and now only had a charred corpse for comfort.


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

As her parents arranged Roy's funeral, Anne had spent her time looking up death records, specifically those that had died while in the military. And there she found the name 'Maes Hughes', who would have been the same age as Roy. It had to be the one Roy had screamed about - there was no other Maes in the military, or in any of the death records in the last twenty years.

She didn't know why she had wanted to look it up, but it made her feel relieved to know that Roy had someone in the afterlife to look after him, as stupid as it sounded. At least he would be happier there than stuck with her family or by himself.

It surprised them how many people turned up to the funeral, most of them being military personell. They were thanked constantly for their attempt to help him, and were often asked to repeat his 'dying words'. Those that Anne asked were also glad that he had Maes to help him on the other side. A woman who said she was Maes' wife told her about Roy's more-than-friendship relationship with Maes, and how they had kept it up even while Maes had been married.

After the funeral, life went, more or less, back to normal. The family got two black puppies, which Anne insisted had to be named Maes and Roy in their honour.

But she still regretted not having the chance to get to know Roy.


End file.
